Koe nodded agreement with her, and Horon echoed that sentiment in roughly the same amount of time. Koe thought it would be a simple thing, talking to dragons and convincing them not to do what was against their better nature. It seemed the only thing that was simple was convincing an old knight and a young dragon to join him in defending a village. And he still hadn't solved the trouble that originally brought him here. If Onainat could see him now she would probably think him foolish for talking about it so much, worrying about it so much. One thing his daughter was not was subtle. Part of that came from her mother, and part of that because he'd simply not instilled in her the same order of caution and secrecy. Well, Koe had a few tricks up his sleeve that had nothing to do with discretion.
Or at least, he felt certain that he did.
"Do you know where this creature lives?" Koe asked finally.
"In the mountains. She... it... has a protection, and the reason I've stayed so far away for so long."
"A protection?"
Even before Horon said what came next, Koe thought he knew. Everything was starting to come together now. Everything was starting to make sense. And the more he thought about it, the more he thought that it made sense. Of course the dragons would be working with her. The only question was why? And why would they venture so far afield of this village simply to find food? Was it about more than that?
"Dragons," Horon said grimly.
Koe's smile was entirely forced. "Some songs are more difficult to play than others."